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Hawks' Pero Antic on matchup with Pacers: 'I cannot back down'

Zak Keefer, zak.keefer@indystar.com
11:22 a.m. EDT April 22, 2014

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Pacers forward David West blocks out Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic on a free throw attempt in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs April 19, 2014, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.(Photo: Matt Kryger / The Star)Buy Photo

He's a 31-year-old rookie on one end, a seasoned vet with 14 years of professional basketball experience spanning eight teams and five countries on the other.

So, no, if you assumed a raucous playoff atmosphere and a few elbows were going to overwhelm Pero Antic in his first NBA postseason game, try again.

The Atlanta Hawks' first-year center and native Macedonian, who's become something of a thorn-in-the-Pacers' side of late, thinks back to his days dotting the European basketball circuit, when the atmosphere was, as he says, far more chaotic.

"It's much more risky, more dangerous to be on the court," Antic said after Tuesday's shootaround before his Hawks face off with the Pacers in Game 2. "You can get hit by stuff, in your head, but it's OK.

"They throw rocks and chairs. We like it."

Antic drained two 3-pointers and had eight points in Atlanta's easy 101-93 Game 1 win on Saturday night. He again won the match-up with Roy Hibbert down low, and in the second half, jawed with Indiana enforcer David West.

The two, shouting forehead to forehead, earned technical fouls after having to be separated with 7:56 left in the third quarter. The confrontation backfired for the Pacers: After West made a lay-up on the next possession, Atlanta ran off 14 straight points.

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Pacers forward David West and Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic gets caught up in a heated exchange of words as teammate Pacers guard George Hill tries to break things up in the second half of Saturday's Eastern Conference playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 19, 2014.(Photo: Matt Detrich/The Star)

It proved a pivotal run the Pacers could not recover from.

"I cannot back down," Antic said. "It's playoff time, and I'm not the kind of person that's gonna make trouble, but I cannot back down. "(West was) using the elbow throughout the game. He was warned by the referee, and he continued to provoke me. Maybe if I was younger, I would've acted differently. But I'm an experienced player and my team needed me."

Just as his team, Antic proved he would not succumb to the Pacers' pressure. Atlanta outscored Indiana to the tune of 30-14 in the decisive third quarter to steal home court advantage away from the East's top seed.

"When you come to the playoffs, you cannot be satisfied with the first game, even if you win it," he said. It's a long series, and we're playing against an incredible team. We're going to come ready tonight and play the same style."